A/32/PV.50 General Assembly

The item before the General Assembly deals with a matter of great iptportance and urgency. It deals with the process of usurpation and spoliation which has been organized and perpetrated against the territory of an entire people and against the very essence of its human, national and cultural existence. 2. This act of piracy and plunder did not start today. It did not start 10 years ago, when Israel committed its treacherous aggression against three Arab peoples in June 1967. It did not begin 30 years ago, when Palestine was tom apart under the very eyes of the United Nations and a racist Zionist State was planted inside it in November 1947. This process began a long time before that, when the leaders of zionism met at the end of the last century to look for a land on which to e~tablishtheir religious State in any spot they could snatch from its people, whether in Argentina, in Uganda or in Palestine. 3. Some unsuccessful attA,mpts to set up a State of the chosen people in Argentina are set forth by Herzl in his book The Jewish State. in which he wrote: "Argentine is one of the most fertile countries in the world, extends over a vast area, has a sparse population and a mild climate/;J 1 Theodor Hem, The Jewish State (New York, American Zionist Emergepcy Council, 1946); p. 95. NEW YOlk The founder of the racist zionist regime went on in his book to ask Argentina to give up part of its territory. He claiilled, without shame, mat his proposal was in Argentina's own interest, saying: uThe Argentine Republic would derive considerable profit from the ce$Sion of a portion of its territory to US."2 4. When the Zionists failed in their attempt to take over Argentina, their covetous eyes turned to a second ilternative, Uganda. In 1903, the Sixth World Zionist Congress in fact adopted a resolution to establish the Jewish State in Uganda. But later, in 1905, at its seventh session, the Zionist Congress changed its· mind and decided instead to concentrate on Palestine. Thus the Zionist leadr;a realized that they would not be able to set up their racist entity wittout resorting to and explQiting religious Jewish fanaticism. 5. This is not the time to go into precise historical detail concerning the tragedy of the Palestinian people. It should be mentioned, however, that world zionism pllrsued its scheme of usurpation and, spoliation in collusion with British colonialism. In 1917 it obtained from Britain what is known as the Balfour Declaration, which promised to help it create a "national home" for the Jews in Palestine. After 30 years of plots, pressure, misleading propaganda and illegal immigration, world zionism succeeded in 1947 ill having the newly formed United Nations partition the Palestine land. More than one half of that land was to be handed over to the foreign Jewish settlers, who had flocked to it secretly or openly for colonization, settlement and the dispossession of its inhabitants. 6. The pillage and spoliation did not end with the establishment of the Jewish State. Soon thereafter, Israel began to extend the territory allotted to it under the partition resolution [resolution 181 (H)]-that is, 56 per cent of the land-carrying out terrorist massacres against the Arab population. When the armistice agreements with neighbouring Arab countries were signed in 1949, Israel controlled more than 70 per cent of the total area of Palestine. 7. Since then, the Zionist entity has constantly resorted to a policy of expansion and aggression against the neighbouring Arab countries and people~. In order to complete the process of pillage and plunder, .ctried unsuccessfully in 1956 to swallow the Gaza Strip md the Sinai peninsula during the tripartite aggression against Egypt. This attempt was repeated during the treacherous aggression of June 1967. This time the Zionist entity succeeded in occupying the remaining part of Palestinian land as well as sizable parts ofSyrian and Egyptian territory. 2 Ibid.. • 9. Did not Ben-Gurion' admit the real ambitions of Israel when he called in 1920 for a Jewish ~ommonwealth extendiI1g northward to the' titani River and eastward to the S<luth ofDam'ascus? ~ BetL-Gurion wrote: "It is m::ce~ that the water sources, upon which the future of th~ 'Land depends, should not be outside the borders of ·1lle fuWre Jewish Homeland.... we have always dem,mded that the Land of Israel include the southern banks of the Litani River, the headwaters ofthe Jordan~ and the Hauran Region from the El Adja spring south of Damascus."4 10. Did not General Dayan of the blood-stained hands say one year after the 1967 aggression: . "Our fathers reached the frontierS that were recognized in the Partition Plan of 1947. Our generation reached the 1949 frontiers. But the 'Six-Day generation' were able to rea·ch Suez, Jordan and the Golan Heights in Syria. This i~ n,ot the end; for after the present '.:easefrre lines there will be new 1illes, but they will ex~end beyond the Jordan River, maybe to Lebanon and perhaps to Central Syria as well." - 11. And now it is the turn of the Prime Minister of the terrorist Zionist entity himself, Menachem Begin, of his foreign ltlinister Moshe Dayan, and of his representative here, to prodairn shamelessly that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not occupied but liberated territories, and that theae lands belong to the Jews according to history, the Old Testament and the divine promise bestowed by God upon - the "chosen paople", that is to say, "the Jewish people", thousands ofyears ago. 12. Thus "victims of racism, and of religious and racial dis.::..imination" have now become the advocates and agents of these practices. Those who suffered from massacres and persecution under ~he slogan of "racial superiority" have ~en tr~m.sformed into executioners and tyrants who oppress others in the name of "religious superiority". How e!s~ C3J1 our international community explain the theory of the '~c.hosen people" in the twentieth century? Since when has God been a ~~cis~ practising segregation and discrimination among His creatures, choosing one p~ople at the expen~ of another, one part of hm .1anity to the detriment ofanodler, i>ne race over and above the others? ~ i!Jic!.. p. 96. 4 Quoted ;::1 bavid Ben-Gurion, Israel: A Personal History (New Yc,rk, Punk & WagnalIs, Inc., 1971), pp. 43-44. 14. The mask has now been tom from the face of the (acist Zionists. The whole international community is perfectly convinced that those invaders are actually after continuous territorial expansion,. bringing the world back to the darkest eras of settler-colonialist invasion and racist and religious fanaticism. The pretexts an4 excuses which tile Zionist racists had used for decades' to mislead the world are being exposed one after another. 15. The international community has realiz.ed it is not the Arabs who wish to throw the Jews into the sea but, rather, the Zionists who wish to throw~the Arabs into the desert= It is not the Arabs who are threatening the security'and ~xistence of Israel but, rather, Israel which is threatening the security and existence of the Arabs. Israel is not the "poor little State" surrounded by Arabs who are ready to pounce on. it from every side but, rather, Israel is. "Goliath", and not "David", as it has pretended to be for many years. 16. The rejection ofpeace and of peaceful negotiations on an equal footing originates from the Israeli side, not from the At;ab side. It is Israel which is creating dozens of obstacles, both procedural and substantive, to prevent negotiations in order to gain time and be able to continue to cr~ate faits accomplis. 17. Day after day published reports and information point to the aggressive Israeli schemes and to Israel's plots and aggressive designs against Arab countries and peoples. During the last few days the mass media were filled with news concerning Israeli preparations and war plans, including those in the nuclear field. The Washington Post yesterday described the "war of annihilation" being prepared against Syria, Egypt and the Palestinian people. It showed how the plan to stage a war was drawn up even before the terrorist Begin government was fonned and how the latter adopted this plan, taking advantage of the formidabie arsenal of heavy and complex weapons showered upon Israel by the United States. Those weapons will enable the Zionist adventurers to launch a war on three Arab fronts for 30 days without the need for fresh supplies from America. ' 18. Why are the new Nazis preparing for a new "war of annihilation" in the Middle East? Why does the Zionist regime persist in its hard, defiant and rejectionist attitude each time the Arabs show moderation and sincere efforts to establish a just and lasting peace? Why do the Zionist racists persist in refusing to withdraw from the territory occupit;d through war and aggression, ignoring the rights and the existence of the Palestinian Arab people, and in rejecting the participation of its leadership, the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLOl, in the peace conference? The" answer to all these questions is simple: it is because 19. For the last 10 years, Israel has been implanting Jewish settlements in every part of the occupied Arab territories. It is doing so feverishly and stealthily. It is therefore necessary to look closely into those actions in the light of the expansionist designs which I have just described, and which do not need any more proof or e.vidence today. Recently, and more particularly since the extremist terrorist character of Israel has become even more pronounced with the formation of the new Israeli Government, this process of settlement has assumed dangerous proportions which may lead to an explosion in. the area unless an end is put quickly to the policy of creeping annexation. Unless the policy of the Zionist terrorist clique is stopped quickly and decisively, the situation may lead to a conflagration in the region. 20. Since 1967, Jewish settlements established by Israel in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Golan and Sinai have numbered over 100. Some reports speak of an even much higher number. Hardly a week goes by without an announcement that new settlements have been created or that old settlements have been declared legal, after the Israeli Government had pretended to disagree over their establishment in the past. 21. While Israeli settlements used to be created one at a time and over long periods of time, the colonization and settlement policy in the last few months has assumed major proportions. It has been taking place at a feverish pace, thus revealing the existence of comprehensive long-term plans to settle Arab territory intensively and on a huge scale. 22. As an example of these large-scale settlement plans, the Jerusalem Post of 9 January 1977 mentioned the scheme announced by Professor Weitz, Chief of the Settlement Department in the World Zionist Organization, to establish 56 new Israeli colonies, of which 27 are in the occupied Arab territories. 23. Just a few days ago, the newspaper Ma'ariv published a story concerning a plan submitted by the Settlement Department of the Jewish Agency to the competent governmental committee for the creation of 15 settlements in the Rafah region. On 3 January 1977, the Jerusalem Post wrote about a scheme which had just been completed to build a deep-water port at Yamit in the same region. My colleague, the representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt, in his statement yesterday (47th meeting) gave detailed information about the serious extent and dimensions of this project. On 5 April 1977, Ha'aretz discussed what is known as the "Southern Project", which provides for the creation of 10 new Jewish settlements in the Rafah region this year, as a first instalment out of 150 agricultural settlements which will be established over the next 15 years. 25. On 8 May 1977, Ha'aretz published a report concerning a new programme to enlarge the Jewish quarters in the Arab sector of Jerusalem by building 18,000 new apartments at Ramot, Gilo and Talpiot in the vicinity of Nevi Ya'cov. 26. The Christian Science Monitor of 20 July 1977 published a detailed report about the new Begin Government's plan to intensify Israeli se.ttlemer1ts in the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and Golan. It stated that Gideon Patt, Israeli Minister of Construction and Housing, has drawn up a five-year plan to develop and settle the Gol~n Heights on a priority basis. Quoting Israeli Radio, the report stated that four new settlements would be established soon, in addition to the 20 already established. Attention is to be given to the Katzrin Center in central Golan, where housing units will be increased from 350 to 1,000 or 1,200, which would accommodate 10,000 settlers. The Israeli ML-uster stated, "there is room for 30 more :rettlements instead of the existing 20 in Golan. . . we will not leave the Golan Heights whatever the circumstances". The same report added that Mr. Israel Galili, former Minister of Housing, had been requested to reconsider the four-year plan which he had rejected under the previous Labour Government. The plan provides for the construction of two new towns, each of which would include 10,000 housing units, three towns of 5,000 units each, and three other towns of 1,000 units each in the Jerusalem area. Furthermore, 2,000 more units would be added to the settlement ofKiryat Arba near Hebron. 27. On 27 July 1977, most Israeli'and world news media reported the decision of the Israeli governmental committee on settlements to legalize three Jewish settlements which had been previously at Kaddum, Ofra and Maab-Adumim. That Israeli measure, in particular, aroused strong indignation, not because the many other Jewish settlements_ were any more legal or less dangerous to peace, but because the decision to confer legality on the three settlements had been taken less than 48 hours after the return of the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Begin, from his official visit to the United States and his meeting with President Carter. 28. Despite wide protests and world condemnation of this Israeli defiance-ttven by the United States-barely 10 days later, two Zionist settlers, Amnon and Daniella Weiss, leaders of the extremist racist group Gush Emunirn, announced at a press conference in New York that 12 more settlements would be established in the occupied West Bank and that 1,200 Jewish families would be moved at once to those settlements. In its 6 August issue, The New York Times quoted them as follows: "We would like to make it clear that there will be more settlements in Samaria and Judaea." 29. On 17 August 1977, the racist Zionist regime demonstrated the extent of its defiance of the -world community by announcing the setting up of three other Israeli settlements in the West Bank: Tsur Natan B, near Qalqilya, Mevo Horon C, north of Latroun~ and a third settlement by the Gush Emunim rightist and extremist 30. The Zionist racists have been ingenious in fabricating excuses and pretexts to justify the plantation of settlements by the dozen inside Arab territory. At tUnes they pretend that these are old -settlements which have not been announced before; other times they claim that the settlements had been sanctioned by the previous Government and are only being implemented by the present Government, as if the crime plotted by the previous Government becomes a legitimate act when it is carried out by the next one. Sometimes'they allege that the settlements are small ones without importance, their populations not exceeding a few inhabitants, as if the violation committed by 100 people becomes a good act if it is carried out by not more than 10 persons. 31. The latest device just invented by the Zionist regime is to implement its policy of colonialism by settling the new foreign Jewish intruders by way of so-called camps of the Israeli army of occupation. On th~ West Bank, six new camps have been opened to accommodate Gush Emunim settlers over the next three months, so that by the end of the year these camps will be converted into civilian settlements. The New York TImes on 3 October recognized that this procedure had been agreed upon between Menachem Begin and me Gush Emunim group, as a means of circumventing American objections to new Jewish settlements in occupied Arab territories. 32. Mr. Mordechai Zipori, Deputy Minister of D~fence in Israel and a member of the ministerial committee on settlements, officially approved the creation of those six settlements on 10 October. According to The New York Times of 11 October the six settlements, and .possibly a seventh one, wnI be established by Gush Emunim, and those settlers win be considered to be employed on special mission on behalf of the army. The army may later hand over the camps to the settlers or move them to other nearby areas. 33. The implantation of Jewish settlements within Arab territory in this frenzied way is not the only way the Zionist entity has·usurped Arab land in order to change its demographic, culrural, geographic and legal nature. T~ e Israeli Government has resorted to another open method which clearly reveals its aggressive expansionist plan to annex the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and possibly other parts of the occupied Arab territories. On 14 August, it announced that Israeli administrative regulations and laws would be applied to occupied Arab territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 34. A spokesman for the israeli Labour Party, the opposition party, expressed its view openly concerning this measure. In a declaration reported in The New York Times on 15 August 1977, he said: "A strong odor of annexation emanates from this Cabinet decision." 35_ On the other ha..ld, the Secretary of the Israeli Government, Arye Naor, was quoted to have admitted the annexation L:l ~ different form when he said: "This is not 37. The intemationai community has unanimously condemned these grave Israeli violations of the United Nations Charter and the principles of international law, particularly the provisions of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 on the Protection ofCivilian Persons in Time of War. 38. Israel's violation of articles 47 and 49 of that Convention is perfectly clear, particularly with regard to article 47: "Protected perso ~s who are-in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the occupation of a territory . . . nor by any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory."s 39. The same may be said of its violation of article 49 which reads as iollows: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own. civilian population into the territory it occupies."6 . 40. The emergency meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of NOIl-Aligned Countries held at the United Nations Headquarters here in New York on 30 September 1977 unanimously condemned Israeli practices. The Political Declaration issued at the end of the meeting stated: "The Ministers reviewed the seriously deteriorating situation in the Middle East resulting from continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories, the extension of Israeli laws and the establishment of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza in a clear attempt to prepare for their annexation, and the escalation of Israeli violations and oppressive practices in the area. They consider that such measures constitute an obstacle to the endeavours for the achievement of a j\l~t and lasting peace in the Middle East. I "The Ministers reaffirm that Israel's continue~ illegal occupation of Arab territories by force constitutes a serious threat to international peace and secunty. "The Ministers also consi.der that illegal occupation does not authorize the occupying Power to carry out any changes which would affect sovereign and other established rights and that such changes are in contravention of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Prmection ofCivihan Persons in Time ofWar. "The Ministers reject the statements recently made by the Israeli Government describing the occupied Arab territories as 'liberated Israeli lands'." [AJ32/255- 8/12410, annex, paras. 1-5.} 41. The extraordinary meeting of the Islamic Conference held in New York on 3 October condemned these Israeli violations and dangerous expansionist practices in its final communique, which was published as an official document of the General Assembly, document A/32/261, dated 5 October 1977. 42. The condemnation of the establishment by Israel of Jewish settlements in occupied Arab territory and other measures to change the demographic, cultural and legal nature of the territories did not emanate only from the non-aligned States, the Islamic States, the socialist States or all the countries of the third world. The European and northern States and even the closest allies of Israel, such as the United States, have also condemned these measures and have considered them to be an obstacle to peace. Those States have refused to recognize the legitimacy of such action. 43. Condemnations have' come also from within Israel itself. I shall quote only one source, namely, Mr. Israel Shahak, professor oforganic chemistry at Hebrew University and Chairman of the Israeli Committee on Human Rights, who testified on Israeli settlements. In an article which appeared in the Middle East International magazine, he said: "... the Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, from their very nature, constitute a dispossession, a discrimination and a system of apartheid. The territories confiscated, or acquired by pressure and deceit for settlement, become territories where only Jews are allowed to live, and where only Jews shall be allowed to live in the future. They are taken out of their geographic context, and become typical imperialist bases, serving the strategic needs of the colonialist power-in this case Israel-that has erected them."? 44. The subcommittee on refugees of the House Committee on The Judiciary of the United States Congress 10 days ago heard Mr. Israel Shahak's testimony as well as that of a number of other Israeli and Arab witnesses concerning the practices of the Zionist military regime in occupied 7.Israel Shahak, "What are my Opinions", Middle East Inter- 1lfl~lOnal, January 1975, No. 43, MEI extra, third page. " 'The two most significant aspects of those violations', Shahak said, 'appear to be the confiscation of the land, carried out in a particularly cruel and unjust way, and the creation of a regime of inequality and racist discrimination'," 45. The arrogance of the spokesmen of the Zionist entity and their stubbornness in continually defying world public opinion is not surprising or strange for a racist regime of aggression, which has expelled 3 million human beings or subjected them to the yoke of colonialism for 30 years. 46. That is why it was not surprising for us or for any other delegation to hear what the spokesman of the Zionist entity stated here at great length. We also listened to the mystifying statements made by his chief, the Foreign Minister, at this session during the general debate [27th meeting}. 47. These spokesmen of the Zionist regime persist shamelessly in claiming that the occupied Arab territories are liberated territories because of the divine historic promise that those territories should be given back to the Jews without taking into account the millions of its indigenous inhabitants who have lived there for tens of centuries. Those racists assert that the implantation of Jewish settlements in the occupied Arab territories is a "legal measure" and they shamelessly state that it is a measure that serves the cause of peace. 48. This Zionist racist arrogance tells the whole story and deserves no reply. Could we expect Hitler to recognize that the crimes he committed against the Jews were inhuman and that his occupation of Europe was illegal'? 49. Could we expect the racist regime in South Africa to recognize that the policy of apartheid which is practised against the peoples of Africa is a criminal and humiliating policy for those inhabitants'? 50. Likewise we should expect the leaders of the Zionist racist regime to recognize one day the fact that their occupation of Arab territories is illegal, that the establish· ment of Jewish settlements populating the occupied Arab lands with thousands of foreign settlers is illegal and constitutes an obstacle to peace? 51. The Zionist representative claimed yesterday that all the Zionist settlements in the occupied Arab territories have within them no more than 6,000 settlers. We have seen how the head of the Gush Emunim group had stated that 1,200 Jewish families were getting ready to set up 12 new Jewish settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan. This means that the approximate figure which would be necessary to establish one settlement would be 100 families. settlers. -- 52. The ZioniSt leaders are attempting to justify their aggression in occupied Ar.ab territories, particularly on the West Bank and in the GaZa-Strip, by claimfng that these territories are not subject to Jordanian or Egyptian sovereignty. This is why tKey-that is to say, the Israelis-also assume the right to seize them. . - SS. What makes one laugh and wnat is indeed painful in this logic is.'that the Zionists are ignoring, as usual, the principal part9fiP:~JI!atter-that is to say, the question of the Palestinj~;- people. Have they not said that the Jords.nians cr:tIle -Egyptians wished to seize the West Bank or the Gaza Strip1 The entire world is saying t!lat it is nc;cessar.1 to return this land. It is merely a minimal part of tbe territory of tl],e, Dalestinian people. It must be retumed to those people so that they may establish an independent State, and so that they may exercise their right to self-detennirtation in accordance with United Nations resolutions. - 54. Another astonishing matter in this area is that Israel refuses to negotiate with the representatives of the Palestinian ~ople with regard to the West Bank and claims that it wm negotiate only with Jordan with regard to that territOIy. Then-forgetting this pretext-it claimsthat it has rights of sovereignty over the West Bank because Jordan, in fact, has no connexion with the West Bank. SS. Israel's presence, in the eyes of the United Nations, is connected to the presence of the Palestinian State because the two States-the Arab State and the Jewish State-have been provided for in the resolutions that have been adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 181 (Ir) dated 29 November 1947. 56. The status of the membership of Israel in the United Nations was also related to··its respect for and concurrence with that resolution which prO\ided for partition and resolution 194(Ill) of 11 December 1948 concerning the rights of Palestinian refugees to return and to compensation. This is also clear in resolution 273 (Ill) dated 11 May 1949, by which Israel was admitted as a Member of the United Nations. 57. The reply of the international ~ommunity to Israel's persistent aggression should be severe and should be effective, because over the past 30 years dozens, indeed hundreds, of resolutions have been adopted without Israel having abided by them or implemented them. 58. Condemnations no longer suffice. The racist regimes do not take these condemnations into account, nor do they 59. This also holds true for the practices and the defiance of other racist regimes in Africa. In both cases it is high time for the United Nations to.implement the provisions and principles of the Charter so as to implement all General Assembly resolutions. 50. Despite our own deep belief that condemnatiG!l does not suffice to pt!t an end to the serious, dangerous situation in occupied Arab territories, so as to put an end to this Israeli occupation which has lasteti for years, and to the process of spoliatibn and usurpation of the occupied Arab territories, the Syrian Arab delegation is a sponsor of the draft resolution submitted to the Assembly in document A/32/I:.3/Rev.l and Add.I. We are truly hopeful that the General Assembly will unaniniously adopt this moderate resolution so as to convince the Zionist and racist regime of the magnitude of its isolation due to its expansionist policy and its contimlal occupation of Arab territories. 61. The only true remedy for the dangerous situation in the Middle East is to put an end to Israeli occupation of the Arab territories immediately and to en~ble the Palestinians to regain their inalienable national rights, including their right to return, their right to self-determination, and their right to establish an independent State in this land. . . 62. This is the only way that a just and lasting peace may be established in the region, and we do hope that the international community wlll stand in solidarity and take the first steps in this direction.

The question before the General Assembly of the lllegal Israeli measures in the occupied Arab territories is a major facet of one of the most dangerous focal points of tension in the world-the Middle East conflict. Over a lengthy period of time, this conflict has been the centre of attention of the world community, and this is not by accident. The situation in the Middle East, where for many years now the consequencesof Israeli aggression against the Arab States have not been eliminated, ami where the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people continue to be trampled under foot, is a further c:ontinual source of international tension, where there is a real danger of,a new conflagration impending. All this serioTJsly complicates the situation in the world arid hinders the improvement of the international politica! climate as a whole. 64. Now there are favourable signs for making progress on the way to establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. There is broader understanding of the need for a speedy resumption of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East, which is the only proper and effective way to resol'le all aspects of the Middle East problem as a whole. In this connexion the joint Soviet-American statement on the :Middle East of 1 October 1977 was of great impllrtance. As was recently stated by the General Secretary of th~ Co-Chairmen Gf the Geneva Conference, use these freSl'l opportunities which have recently emerged." 65. In the prevailing situation in which more favourable conditions for achieving a Middle East settlement exist, the steps being taken by Israel to strengthen its position in the occupied Arab territories cannot but give rise to the most serious concern. 66. In all the time that has elapsed since the occupation of Arab territories, the ruling circles in Israel have unswelVingly pursued a policy of colonizing the Arab territories which they seized and of including these lands de facto in the State of Israel. Various kinds ofmeasureshave been taken to tie the occupied Arab territories economically to Israel. 67. In defiance ofinternationa11aw and ofthe decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations and other international-organizations, Israel is step by step creating Israeli settlenlents on the Arab territories wpJch they seizad. Information is available indicating that at the present time there are about a hundred of such settlements. Reports have reached us on the preparation of long-term plans for the further strengthening of Israel's position in the occupied Arab territories according to which in coming years it plans to establish approximately 50 new Israeli settlements in these territories. Many facts concerning these illegal activities by Israel were'Mentioned by the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic a few moments ago. All this is convincing proof that the creation of such settlements is in line with far-re2ching strategic purposes-theannexati9y--·hy Israel of a significant portion of the .6t~ti~e:a Ata1J-'t~rntories.New evidence of this goal was -the"re~e~f-ae$s~J!'JaI(e_llc by the Israeli authorities to extend the .valllfitY'·of certaIn Israeli laws to the occupied Arab territories> 68. Representatives of Israel in their public statements, ~luding those made at the United Nations, have expressed Israel's efforts to a~hjeve peace, its readiness to conduct negotiations leading towards a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict. But how can one square those statements with Israel's real policy,that of a systematic Israelization ofthe occupied Arab territories? 69. The actions taken by the Israeli authorities in the occupied Arab territories are a gross viol&tion ofthe norms and principles of international law, in particular the provisions of the fourth Geneva Ccnvention of 1949 relative to the Protect~..)n of Civilian Persons in Time of \Var. For example, article 49 of that Convention states that s'the Occupying Power shall not... transfer... its own civilian population into the territory it occupies", let alone create their own settlements. 71. In November 1976 the President of the Security Council presented a consensus statement8 expressing deep concern and alarm with respect to the grave situation in the occ~pied Arab territories as a resUlt of their continuing occupation' by Israel The Security Council called upon Israel to halt its arbitrary and unilateral actions in the occupied territories with regard both to the Arab populations and the establishment of Israeli settlements. He emphasized that these actions did not have tli{torc~ oflaw and constituted obstacles on the road to peace in the Middle East. Thus the SecUrity Council quite clearly and unequivocally reafrmned the illegality and unlawfulness of the Israeli occupation. 72. At its last session. the Ge!leral Assembly by an overwhelming majority adopted resolution 31/61, which condemned Israel's continued occupation of Arab territories in violation of the Charter ef the United Nations and also condemned all measures taken by Israel in the occupied territories designed to change the demographic and geographic character and institutional structure of these territories. 73. However, Israel not only.refuses to heed these clearly expressed demands of the international community but obstinately continues its illegal actions designed to continue ite occupation of the Arab territories and to annex them de facto. 74. It is therefore not surprising that this policy by Isr-ael is viewed by the overwhelming'majority of States as creating new obstacles on the way to achieving a just-peace in the Middle East. That was reafrmned by the statements made by the heads of delegations of States Members of the United Nations during this session's general debate and also in the statements made by various other representatives on this question. Those statements contained resolute demands that Israel immediately refrain from implementing any measures which might change the legat statu&:- and the demographic and geographic character of the occupied Arab territories. The Soviet Union fully supports those just demands. 75. In accordance with the decisions taken at the Twenty- Fifth Congress of the Communist Party, the Soviet Union insistently aims at eliminating the remaining hotbeds of tension, rIrst and foremost at implementing a just' and lasting peace in the Middle East. The Soviet Union favours the total elimination of the consequences of Israeliaggression, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the Arab territories it occupied as a result of the 1967 war. As was emphasized by our Foreign Minister, AndreiGromyko,in, his statement of27 September this year. '. " "•.• we have been and we remain advocates of the just cause of the Arabs, whose lands have been unlaWfUlly ." states---the.fon~wmg.;:": --,-.; .. -~.:.:;- - - . ~ -".-- - 1srael of the Arab territories, nor can it accept the Israeli .,d.-. . _. -1> -.. J --"Bot~"~~~~~Oice-d their suppo-rt;'for a-,just--DQIitical measures altering the legal status, geofgraphical nature aIlWd , .,. ''f . ..' ., - demographj.ca.'1d cultu.ral character 0 those territories. e settlement in:the Mi4dJ,i'-East'on the basis of withdrawal consider,,-thosemeasures to be utterly illegal and would urge !~f Israeli trooprlr~m.all ~a~lands occupied in 1967, Israel-"to --- 'end,.1ts.:intransigence and heed world opinion the satisfaction of. the1~gitfillate demands.oT.th.eArab " people of Palestirie." inckmin,' •.g. their leo1.tirtlate..~d. in'alien-,- _ calling on it to halt its policy of settlement in the occupied ~ - - Arab territories, able right to establish -their own state; anaensu'rlmc_e 9f - _ .' trn:. rjg{l}J?!~. st~!t{~in the Middle East tp ~d~peii~en~-~ ..83~-:'Th;.~~ent illegal hraeli measures have not only exlsten~e-and:,q~J~~ment: In"lmrsu~ce:~ !h~Se:..anm,~-" intensified 'the u~certainly ofthe situation but have also c: _they flrrn.ly ~t:lppqtlj~e: ~ar1jest~mptioIn}f~e Geneva ' increased tension in the area The deliberate obstructionist :-~,'-':Pea~~L-o~,fe.!ence,.~,witn:-,~~ i'art.icipatio~ of ~ si~es policy pursued by the Israeli Government indeed impedes '" Gf,lncerned~~'1D.clud~&;-. representatIves -of the.v~~stme "'efforts to achi~ve a just and lasting peace in the Middle .. ~~~tionOr!@1liZati6n~.'~9;=- -- • East. -'-0-,' .. .../ - 77• In~n~lusi~;jnydeiega!i(>n_v{9U1d lik~t!J state once 84.- k.lsD:of continuing concern to Malaysia has been the again t~at the s~yietVni?n w~l~ontim).~ to do ~ts-utmost Israetrq5~~C¥.,,()r'desecration and destruction of the buildto achieve a .comprehen~lve settlem:nt -m~e Ml~d!.~ East ings;.:and places in Jerusalem holy to Muslims. We deplore and to establish there:~u..st.,md lasting·~e ba.§ed. ~th!Lc such acts and~' in particular, the Israeli diggings under the recognit!Q!Y of. the -legitilriate rights and interests-:Of all--=-'al-#aram al-Shareef sanctuary, including the Al Aqsa States arid;~Qpl~sof~that r~on. _ . Mosque, the Dome~-oLthe Rock and all the adjacent ~. ~x -~,', ~ j - '_ .buil'dings and historit-;al ptacei 78. Tan,Sri :ZAJ;l'ON'(MalaysJa): For three decades now ,the probt~o.fJheMlddleEastnas:'9aptured the,attention 85. TheF9~ign Mipisters of the States members of the ofJh~ iiil~rnC\tional cemmu~ty. However,' tp.e:'passage~f \. Islamic C~ilfere,I1ce<met ear!i~~ this month in New York. My tirile~has~othelpe.d us tifr~soty~thi~_difficult ptobl€rii, ' delegati~~iu11Y asso~ates::itselfwith the views expressed in which continues to 'po~ a seribu~)threat t~ world peace and- .'the,fu1al' communique of that meeting [A/32/261, annex] international security:. ',;'.., --',' ,~'- _'-' ~ .\ ' , that the ~slamic world {ejects and would not indefmitely .' -: '- tolei~te;the continue'd Israeli occupation of the Palestinian 79. At the heart of tpi&>CO!n..E!~x~'l,dAisturbingquestion' and' Arab territOries and the obstruction of Moslem pilgrims lies the Palestinian problem. It is the fum belief o£ my ",to'Me(;~a an4 M~dma~ This religious provocation carried out delegation that a'~plete-Israeli "witltdrawal f~om all - by)~rael'is·~1J.9~I1Berin&_~ already precarious and 'tragic '- .-;{)ccupied Arab territQ1ie.$; and the restoration and exercise situatidIl:nrthe Middle,East. ' f .;: 'ofthe inalienable right~ofthe-_Palestinian people to retumto ~ ~,' '~, ~ <.;!lJ.~omes and propertie~ and to achieve se!f-,det~rmi- ,86.~Malaysia nas always shared the aspirations and hopes . ~~~~tion is of basic imno~JiiJce-to the,$earch for a J;011l,.tion to -of'the Arab people as a whole in the Middle Eastern :.~ brmg-an enduring pea~to:~~ttroubl~ea._ confliC! and, pendin~ the resolution of this c~nt1i:t, -:' ~~ -,. . .'-'.' , ,Mi!Jaysla strongly demands that Israel comply With ltS .: ~,..:~enfpeace. moves' iridicate that there exist'$...a -:' fu.'temational obligations under the fourth Geneva Convenfi genuine and renewed desire to. reconvene the Gene¥~ClCe' tion of 1949 and, as the occupying Power, desist rom talks to negotiate a just solution which would ensure peace takingJurther measures designed to change the legal status, and security to all States in the Middle Eastern region. geogi~~J:~ or demographic compoSition of the Instead of seizing upon 'those encouraging trends, Israel's occupi~:ALab territories. In this regard, Malaysia is happy . to beaII{Ong;"t~~ ~poJlSors of draft resolution A/32/L.3/ ,9 See "Joint Soviet-Indian .~ommunique", Repri'!ts ,from "tHe; :_" Rev.1 and~!ild~l-~.~hiGh has'alrea':y been ably inttod~ced 88. I should also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ambassador Amerasinghe on his excellent work as President of the thirty-fust session of the General Assembly and to acknowledge and place on record my Government's high esteem for the Secretary-General's continuing efforts in the cause ofpeace. 89. The item the General Assembly is now debating is indeed new to its agenda, but the measures and actions by Israel to which it specifically calls our attention are not. These actions have, year in and year out, been debated, censured and condemne~ by this Assembly without the slightest hint of any change for the better. With the recent political changes in Israel, however, what was formerly sometimes hidden under a cloak of tolerance and sometimes pictured as reluctant official approval is now being officially sanctioned and encouraged. That this Assembly should therefore have now been invited to take a closer look at the recent measures taken by Israel, particularly the establishment of more and more settlements in the occupied Arab territories, is the fault neither of those delegations which took the initative of bringing the item before the Assembly, nor of the Assembly, which correctly decided to give the item its full consideration. 90. In approaching this item my delegation bases its stand on a premise that is accepted by one and all. The premise is that the occupation of land by force is inadmissible and that once it unfortunately takes place it is the duty ofthe occupying Power not only to treat the people under occupation with magnanimity but to see to it that no action is taken that makes withdrawal from that territory more difficult to achieve. In other words, occupied territory is occupied territory and is not annexed land to be treated as the occupant wills. This principle is valid not only because it is enshrined in Article 2 of the United Nations Charter but also, and more importantly, because it has constantly been invoked over the years by this Assembly and has found its way into numerous resolutions. The principle is not, therefore, a dead letter. 92. In this light there is no doubt in our mmd that the Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab lands are illegal in. international law. Article 49 of the fourth Geneva Convention, of which Israel is a signatory, imposes on the occupying Power the obligation not to deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. Of course, the present occupying Power knows of this obligation, and it is no wonder that it has taken great pains to justify its occupation with legalistic argumentation, even to the point of saying that, while the occupation is there for all to see, Israel is not an occupying Power withiri the meaning of the fourth Geneva Convention. But this argumentation poses more questions than it purports to answer. 93. If consciences are so clear, if no international contractual obligations are being broken, if no apologies are necessary, then why, may one ask, were settlers frrst given status clearly aimed at avoiding censure under the fourth Geneva Convention, which addresses itself to civilians, only for that status to be eroded by the fact that the settlers were to remain civilians employed on a mission on behalf of the army? This legalistic camouflage is, to our mind, an unmistakable indication that Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories, far from not being an obstacle to peace, as has been asserted, are part of a concerted plan to consolidate Israel's foothold there, thus rendering more difficult the achieving of border settlements. 94. The fact is that, however innocent Israel seems to consider these demographic changes in the occupied territories, world opinion is decidely in disagreement. By the most lenient, they have been described as unfortunate and untimely and as not helping the serious efforts aimed at a Geneva meeting, and stiIlless the cause ofa settlement with justice for all concerned. Besides, in this case suspicion is generated not only by the inherent characteristics of each single act of illegal settlement but also by the cumulative effect of several actions that manifest the true intention of the perpetrator. It is one thing to say that settlements are no obstacle to peace, and it is another to make references in the same breath to the occupied areas where they are being established as Judaea and Samaria, dropping any reference to occupied Arab lands and indeed going so far as to can them "liberated territories" and, as if that were not enough, issuing instructions to news editors to stop calling the West Bank an "occupied" territory. As I have said, these measures are viewed with suspicion even by the most ardent sympathizers with the cause of Israel. 97. Finally, I should like to say that Malta will support the draft resolution on this item[A/32/L.3/Rev.l andAdd.i]. 98. Mr. KAisJ?:R (Bangladesh): The Middle East situation continues to challenge the international community.. as a major test of the credibility and viability of the United Nations in discharging its fundamental responsibility of preserving peace and security in the world. In no other issue has the United Nations been so deeply involved. On no other problem does the United Nations bear so great a burden of responsibility. On no other question does the cost offailure carry so heavy a burden. 99. In recent months there have been tenuous hopes that the negotiating process between the parties would in some measure be regenerated. and that the momentum tQwards a settlement based on justice and a durable peace could be initiated. Notwithstanding the fact that procedural mechanisms are no substitute for genuine negotiations on substantive issues, the world community nevertheless viewed the initiatives with some degree of optimism. The cardinal test was the will to move towards a meaningful settlement. Every action, physical or psychological, in a climate of deep-rooted distrust and in a heavily armed environment has substance and could act as an immediate brake on peaceful progress towards a Middle East solution. lOO. The importance of the item under discussion has particular relevance in this hair-trigger situation. Bangladesh strongly endorsed its inclusion on the Assembly's agenda. I stated then, and strongly reiterate now, that the recent measures undertaken by Israel in the occupied territory, detaned in the explanatory memorandum so ably S".1bmitted by Egypt[A/32/241] and broadcast by international media across the globe quoting authoritative statements of Israeli leaders, both, from the government and the opposition, and revealed in the condemnation and concern expressed by' responsible statesmen, individually and in concert, constitute a pivotal issue in determining the balance between a durable peace and the eruption of war in this region. 101_ The objective facts of the case reveal a blatant and premeditated design that cannot but cast doubts on the bona /ides or Israel in seeking a peace honourable} to all. The basic elements of the plan constitutea challenge tothe 102. The plan, well on the way to implementation, has already resulted in the establishment of 77 known colonialtype settlements in the occupied. Arab territories-six more have been authorized as late as August following Prime Minister Begin's trip to the United States. Only a few days ago two more settlements were authorized in pointed disregard of the storm of criticism and condemnation aroused world wide, as exemplified by the inclusion of the item on the Assembly agenda. While the initial motivation might have been governed, I supposed, by defence considerations, the eventual aim became patently obvious: outright annexation. Projected into the future are plans within a 15 year pedod for the creation of scores of new homelands, including 50 within the occupied territories. Accompanying such a blueprint for territorial acquisition through force are poorly concealed intentions to increase the rate of settler immigration to the tune of hundreds of thousands of Zionist settlers from abroad. 103. Even more contemptible than these flagrantly illegal moves are attempts by Israel to justify its virtual colonization on the untenable ground of legitimacy dredged up from 2,000 years ago-the biblical link to the ancient Jewish homeland. The recognition of such claims could constitute a dangerous precedent, the condoning or appeasing of which could nullify the fundamental Charter injunction against "the acquisition of territory by force. It could change the map of the world and open the door to international anarchy. 104. Alongside this plan to impose virtual colonization is the thinly concealed plot to oust the original inhabitants through a deliberate campaign of intimidation and dem'll of basic human rights, accompanied by attempts to alter the cultural, religious and demographic structure of these territories, including the desecration of the holy shrines. 105. The United Nations cannot allow Israel to flout its authority with impunity; the adverse consequences to a Middle East peace are obvious. The threat to the viability of the principles of the United Nations Charter, however, is far-reaching and monumental. It is not only the Arabs or the Pal.,}stinians who are challenged but every nation in the world, for the basic precepts which underlie and bind the community of nations are being undermined. , 106. Bangla4esh categorically condemns these Israeli measures. We strongly urge concerted international action along the lines laid down by the recent communiques of the extraordinary meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries [A/32/255-S/12410, annex] and of the Islamic Conference[A/32/261, annex], respectively. We believe that such action must be directed in particular towards securing the immediate dismantling of settlements: the restoration and rehabilitation of the original inhabitants and the mobilization of all assistance, material and fmancial, to help the original inhabitants to achieve thisgbal. It is for this reason that Bangladesh considers it a duty to 108. Respect for the principles of international law i~ one of the essential requirements and obligations placed upon States Members of the United Nations and is one of the essential characteristics of the civilized world. The Zionist entity has not abided by these principles but, on the contrary, has violate I and disdained them. 109. The international community is well aware that world zionism, in collusion with imperialism, was able to proclaim the unfortunate Balfour Declaration in 1917 providing for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestinian lands, disregarding the wishes of the indigenous inhabitants of the country, who represented 92 per cent of the population and possessed 98 per cent of the land. 110. Scene outlines and chapters in these shabby plots succeeded one another: Great Britain was handed the Mandate over Palestine and began to play its role by annihilating the interests of the Palestinians and forcing them to leave the country, while at the same time it was granting privileges to the Jews and throwing wide open the doors to their immigration with a view to settlement. The Zionist organizations also, together with their allies, played a despicable role in the repression of the Palestinian Arabs: they used the most barbarous methods when they engaged in collective massacres designed to wipe out the inhabitants, stockpiled arms and mobilized the terrorists. To meet this conspiracy the Palestinian people at that time could only resist stubbornly and with means far beyond the limit ofits possibilities. Nevertheless, the Zionist settlers were able to implant the first Zionist colony on the soil of Palestine in 1886. 111. To complete this international conspiracy in which the Zionist and Western forces took part, the United Nations also committed the greatest blunder known to history by adopting on 29 November 1947 resolution 181 (11), providing for the partition of Palestine without enabling the Palestinian people to take part in decisions affecting its destiny and its future in its own land and country. 112. That fateful error threw open the way to these ravaging wolves which began to devour both the innocent people and the territory of Palestine in order to establish a ~arger number of Israeli settlements, and consolidate them through illegal and inhuman laws. Israel was not satisfied with what it had done. It launched the 1967 aggression against three of its Arab neighbours and occupied a large part of the land of those countries, including the whole of Palestine. Israel then began to set up settlements it} these 114. The political resolutions which. were adopted at the Tenth Conference of the Zionist Herot Movement under the guidance of Menachem Begin, a conference which was held on 8 November 1970, stated: "The Herot Conference refuses any proposal which would lead to a new partition of Israel and in order to guarantee Israeli ~vereignty over all of the liberated regions, the legislation, jurisdiction and administration of Israel must be implemented there. What is of paramount importance is the intensive settlement of all of the territory ofJudaea, Samaria, the Gaza Strip, Sinai and the Golan Heights." 115. This Zionist defiance continues and Israel's persistence in seizing Arab territories to establish Zionist settlements is a flagrant challenge and defiance of the international community, its Charter, its resolutions and its provisions. The policy of usurpation and spoliation ofArab territories on the part of Israel has been the essential aim of the ZioIlli! movement since its inception in the last century and up to the present time. This Zionist movement has stubbornly used all means and methods available to it, and exploited the British Mandate over Palestine on the pretext of saving the Promised Land. However, the movement was not successful in all of its attempts to seize this land for it clashed with the Arab citizens. But the picture changed when Israel was established under the Zionist movement. The usurpation of lands undertaken by the Zionist entity led to the massive scattering ofthe Palestinian people. 116. In 1948 Israel grabbed a large part of Palestinian land, to ~y nothing of dozens of Syrian and Egyptian villages which mre occupied, one of them being Quneitra. Since then the confiscations continue relentlessly at two different but interdependent levels, on the one hand by the use of force and, on the other hand, on the basis of military laws which the Zionist entity has inherited. This Zionist entity is based on tyranny, repression, imperialism and colonializatioll applied by Zionist circles aided and abetted by their foreign allies. 117. The barbarous massacres committed by the terrorist Zionist organizations, as well as by the miliJary authorities, as a result of the establishment of the Zionist entity, the expulsion of the Arab people from Palestine, the occupation of the country and the occupation of a neighbouring Arab country's territories, all of this cannot be justified in the eyes of history and are unacceptable from the human standpoint. 119. The slogan "Eretz Israel", which has been the goal for more than a quarter of a century, is being now revived in a new form by Menachem Begin's terrorism. In his feverish electoral campaign, he brandished that slogan, even though it is nothing but the fruit ofthe Zionist superiority complex and arrogance, and will collapse just as the myth of the invincible Israeli army has collapsed. The racist and discriminatory policy, founded on Zionist superiority, seems more than ever senseless and is based only on lies and illusions devoid of any juridical or real foundation. The Zionist daily Jewish Chronicle, published in the United Kingdom, did not hesitate to criticize Begin's policy in an editorial dated 19 August 1977 and wondered whether Begin and ~l1e members of his government had become so bemusecl by political power that .they refused to h~ed all the international protests aroused by the measures they had taken on the West Bank and in Gaza. 120. -The movement for Zionist settlement has been very intense and has activated the fulfJlment of the settlement plans drawn up in the time-table of the Zionist Parliament and the Jewish Agency. To that we must add that the colonization projects have been undertak~n by Zionist organizations both in different regions ofPalestine and in the occupied Arab territories. Settlement colonies have been set up in the region of Sharm El Sheikh to promote touri'1m and trade. Military and other habited colonies have been set up in the same region. More than 30 settlements have been established on the Syrian Golan Heights. More than 40 settlements have been established on the West Bank of the'Jordan, in addition to a town with a capacity of 250,000 settlers, which will be completed in 1980. Dozens of settlements have been implanted along the Jordan river with a view to creating a cordon sanitaire. Taking advantage of the fact that the Jordan is the border between various regions-did not Rabin say: "Plant olive trees, for the Jordan River is the border"? -the Zionist clan tries to establish a series of settlements in order to encircle the Arab towns, so that they will be isolated and gradually colonized to the point at which their Arab character will .. dfuappear. This is to say nothing about the measures taken to change the character of Jerusalem, which is already encircled by a series of colonies, and the other measures affecting the Holy Places, and in particular the AI Aqsa Mosque and the El Ibrahimi Mosque. 121. These racist acts which are based on a policy of religious. discrimination, have aroused the anger and indignation of the entire world-the Islamic world and the Christian world. They have been condemned vehemently - 126. It is high time that the international community should cease to confine itself solely to the adoption of --IIiII----------- ••• .:-:~~.I 122. All of these acts of provQ{:ation and settlement which are being carried out by the preseni Government in Israel in contravention of international law and the traditions and principles of the United Nations can serve only as proofof the fact that this entity is moving towards a situation which will reflect a deadlock and will lead to a conflagration in the region. How else can we explain Israel's persistent occupation of the occupied Arab territories, the expulsion of their inhabitants, the creation of settlements and the annexation of the city of Jerusalem and the changing of its nature? How can all of these measures be explained which violate the resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Security Council? i23: An article "Landmarks on the Road to Execution" by Michael Adams proVides mdications as to the path which has been taken, and the aim of Zionist policy, namely, to establish what Israel calls "Greater Israel". Let me quote what he states: "From the moral point of view, the settlement of Arab territories is an error and exposes the Israeli community to the same violence to which the people Israel wishes to subjugate are exposed. From the legal point of view, this matter of settlements is illegal and, by leading Israel into a constant struggle with the international community, increases its isolation. From the political point of view, the establishment of more settlements in these occupied Arab lands is self-defeating and useless. This policy demonstrates Israel's hostility and its refusal to refrain from actions of this nature." 124. The Security Council, in the consensus statement by the President of 11 November 1976, has expressed its concern about the grave situation prevailing in the occupied Arab territories and has reaffrrmed the need for Israel to guarantee the safety of the populations under its domination. The Security Council has agreed that all the legal or administrative measures taken by Israel with regard to the city of Jerusalem are null and void and has urgently appealed to Israel to put an end to these illegal measures and to prevent their recurrence. 125. While the United Nations says nothing about the inhuman Israeli practices in the occupied Arab territories or the violations of the Charter, Unit~d Nations resolutions, international law, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the fourth Geneva Convention, the Zioni~t entity pursues its policy of expansion and aggression and continues to establish settlements and to Judaize the occupied Arab territories in defiance of the international community. My country strongly condemns the Zionist entity, especially for the arbitrary measures it has taken in the occupied territories. These measures are an obstacle to any effort made with a view to establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

The situation in the Middle East continues to be explosive as a direct consequence of the fact that the key problems of the conflict between the Arab States and Israel are still unresolved. On a number of occasions my delegation has expressed from this rostrum the position of the Hungarian Government on the Middle East question, a position which has basically remained unchanged since the beginning of that conflict. 128. This time, rather than speak again at length to repeat our views, I shall touch upon another aspect of the Israeli aggression against the Arab countries which is equally a source of potential danger of the greatest gravity. I am referring to Israel's policy based on the so-called homeland doctrine, which· serves as a basis for the annexation of the occupied Arab territories. The annexation of those territories through direct and indirect measures and practices lies at the root of the situation, which is steadily deteriorating. Such a policy of fait accompli claims that the territories captured from the Arab countries form part of Israel and are therefore, on the one hand, not considered as occupied lands, and on the other, that the population of those territories is regarded as living there only on sufferance. That doctrine is, of course, untenable. 129. Recently the Government of Israel has taken concrete measures in relation to the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, measures that'have a bearing on the search for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. Those measures are deliberate acts to perpetuate Israel's occupation of Arab lands and to pave the way for their annexation_ Ever since 1967 the policy of annexation has manifested itself in the establishment of settlements in the occupied territories, in the further development of the settlements already established, in the continued acquisition of land in the occupied territories, in the process of annexing the occupied part of Jerusalem, and in the discouragement of the population from remaining in the occupied territories, while refusing to recognize the right to return of those who fled or left their homes in 1967. That practice is known as an attempt to change the geographical nature and the demographic composition of the occupied territories. That shameful practice has recently been further developed. As I have already stated, the recent measures adopted by the Government of Israel are also aimed at changing the legal status of the occupied territories. 130. Those measures include the announcement by the Israeli Government of its official approval of the existing settlements and the creation of new ones in the Arab territories under Israeli occupation and of the application of Israeli laws and regulations to Arab areas in the occupied territr<>ries. 132. My delegation is deeply concerned by the actions of the Israeli Government in the occupied territories, particularly by its announced administrative measures, which seem to imply a continuation of the policy aimed at the pennanent annexation of those territories. These actions create even greater tension in the area and pose a threat to the international community. We believe that in the present circumstances the General Assembly should take appropriate initiatives that would increase opportunities to move towards a solution of this problem. We are of the opinion that the General Assembly should condemn all measures taken by the Israeli authorities to change the legal status, the geographical nature and the demographic composition of the occupied territories and should call upon the Government of Israel strictly to comply with its international obligations. 133. In conclusion, I should like to make it clear that in the view of my delegation the measures and actions taken by Israel in the occupied territories have no legal validity and are a serious hindrance to the efforts to achieve ajust and lasting peace in the Middle East. Israel still keeps the Arab territories under occupation and maintains tension in the region. We are convinced that an over-all settlement of the conflict can only be conceived within the framework of an international conference to be held with the participation of all the parties involved, including the representatives of the PLO. Such a settlement should be based on Israel's withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967, on the recognition of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and on guarantees for all States in the area to live in peace within recognized, secure and guaranteed borders.

The delegation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, whose people still vividly remember the aftermath of the last war and military occupation, fully shares the general alarm and concern over recent developments in the Middle East. 135. For many years now the Middle East has remained the focal point of international tension. Military conflagration has broken out four times in a comparatively short period and it would certainly be tragic if it were to break out again. 136. That explosive situation is a direct consequence of Israeli aggression against Arab countries, of the continued occupation of Arab territories by Israel, territories which it seized in 1967, and of its refusal to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. 137. The situation in that region has been further exacerbated by the decisions taken by the Israeli leaders to 138. Those actions of Israel are quite ~imply an attempt by the Israeli authorities formally to arrogate to Israel the Arab territories which it seized, thus placing a fait accompli before the world. 139. The leaders of Israel, incidentally, do not conceal their true ai1JlS and far-reaching- plans, which were openly -Stated in their decision to remain in the occupied terri- tories. The Minister fOr Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dayan, stated this in his statement to the General Assembly on 10 October [27th meetingI, when he attempted to justify the "legality" of Jewish settlements in the occupied Arab Territories. He resorted to so-called "arguments", which convinced no one here, not even the State which is the ally and patron of Israel. Even the leaders of that State have several times indicated their disapproval of the measures taken by Israel to legalize the settlements it has founded. 140. As has already been !3tated, those actions are a gross violation of the United Nations Charter and its decisions, of the norms and principles of international law, and in particular of the provisions of the fourth Geneva Conven- tion of 12 August 1949, a convention to which Israel is a signatory. Article 49 of that Convention prohibits the Occupying Power from deporting or transferring "parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies" and, a fortiori, from establishing its own settlements there. 141. It is worth noting-and this has been mentioned by a number of representatives-that the illegal actions of Israel were perpetrated at a time when the special efforts made by the Soviet Union, the Arab States and all peace-loving forces hed created more favourable conditions for a Middle East settlement and when the question of resuming the work of the Geneva Peace conference had . reached the stage ofpreparation. 142. This shows the nature and scale of Israel's defiance of the intt;mational community and international public opin- ion and its blind reliance on the concept of force and violence. 143. It is natural that the defiant steps of the Israeli leaders are regarded by all countries everywhere as actions which create fresh obstacles on the way to achieving a just . and lasting peace in the Middle East. 144. The Byelorussian SSR shares the bittemp~sand wrath of the Arab peoples over the fact that part of their ancient lands continues to remain under the heel of the occupying forces and are being formally annexed by usurpers, and that many hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs are deprived ofthe right to their own homeland. 145. From this rostrum many representatives have, quite rightly, spoken about a natural humal1 right: the right to life. But there is another one organiCdlly connected with 146. Israel and those who back it should not harbour any illusions that they can impose their will 0111 the Arab peoples. Whoever sows the wind reaps the whirlwind. In the fmal analysis, this is not in the interest of the p.;ople of Israel itself, .who continue to live in the conditions of a garrison State but who, like all people, long to live in peace and tranquillity. 147. But there will be no peace and tranquillity unless Israeli troops withdraw completely from the Arab terri- tories it seized in'1967, unless the legitimate national rights of the Arab people of Palestine are ensured, including their right to the creation of their own State, and un1~ss the right to an independent existence and the security of all States involved in the conflict are guaranteed. 148. These three key factors are the basis for a just and lasting set:tlement and the way to that settlement lies through the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East which, to our minds, should resume its work as soon as possible. 149. The Israeli leaders should now realize that occupied territory is foreign land and, ineVitably, they will have to restore that land to its rightful owners. As a first step, they should stop their illegal measures aimed at changing the legal status, geographical character and demog'raphic composition of the occupied Arab territories. 150. On the basis of everything I have said, the Byelo- russian SSR supports draft resolution A/32/L.3/Rev.l and Add.l.

As the delegation of Egypt has pointed out in its explanatory memorandum contained in the annex to document A/32/241, recent illegal Israeli measures in the oc,:,upied Arab territories constitute a serious contravention of the principles of the United Nations Charter, in particular tli~se which establish the non-admissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and proyide for the right of self-determination and freedom Jor all peoples. In a,dpition, theJ! represent a flagrant defiance of the will of the international community as expressed in numerous resolutions both of the General Assembly and of the Se' ~rity Council. The United Nati~ns and the international community as a 'whole cannot afford to ignore such a brazen challenge. 154. In this regard it is particularly distres.sing to note that Israel cCTItinues to violate not only the basic norms of international law and of the relevant international conventions, but has also committed grave breaches ofthe Geneva Convention relative to the Protection ofCivilian Persons in Time of War. The longer the occupation continues, the more blatant becomes the Israeli Government's disregard of its explicit obligations in this respect. Settlements which were initiated in 1967 as military or paramilitary outposts have gradually been transformed into civilian occupation-a fact which emphasizes their permanency, not only from the viewpoint of the Government, but also from that of the settlers as well. Moreover, a growing proportion of the more recently established settlements has had from the outset an openly civilian character. 155. Clearly such activities, which seek to permanently dispossess the indigenous people of their lands and homes, constitute a deliberate policy of violating the basic human rights of the inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories. Some of the more specific instances of these practices are especially disturbing. The deliberate interference with the religious freedoms and practices occasioned by the extension of Israeli settlements has caused grave anxiety and concern among the people in the occupied territories and also among the other nations in general. Such deliberate and persistent violation of the traditional religious practices by the Israelis deserves the condemnation of the entire. internationai community. 156. The establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories demonstrates that the expansionist policies pursued by successive Israeli Governments have not yet been abandoned. It is clearly important that no member of the international community should extend recognition to the changes which have been imposed by Israel. The extension and consolidation ofthe Israeli settlements in the occupied territories constitute one of the main impediments to the negotiations which would lead to a just solution of the problem cf the MIddle East. As repeatedly recognized by the General Assembly in successive resolutions, such a settlement can only be attained through the withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories . ' including the holy city of Jerusalem, and th~ recognition of all the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. 157. My delegation therefore strongly condemns the persistence of Israel in carrying out its measures of oppression, in particular the establishment of settlements in the occupied Arab territories. 158. We wish to take this opportunity to call upon Israel scrupulously to observe its, international obligations in accordance with the principles of international law and the 159. In order to lend its active support to the attainment of these goals, my delegation has decided to become a sponsor of draft resolution A/32/L.3/Rev.1 and Add.I. In particular, we hope that the contacts to be.undertaken by the Secretary-General pursuant to operative paragraph 6 (a) of the draft resolution will result in the cessation and nullification of the illegal Israeli measures in the occupied territories. It is al~o my delegation's belief that a review ofthe situation by the Security Council in the light of the draft resolution and of the Secretary-Genera!'s efforts would do much to resolve this pressing issue~

We are now on the eve of the establishment of peace. We Arabs always prefer to be optimistic, and this desire for peace is part of our daily'life, our traditions and our age-old customs. The expression salaam aleikhem is repeated daily by every Arab-whatever his religion, Moslem, Christian or Jewish. Arabs, whatever their status, continue to meet and greet one another with this expression of peace and to live in friendship and love until the arrival of certain kinds of people that have come to live with them, people that pretended to be peace-loving and Semites but indeed were not at all. 161. I do not wish to devote my statement here to the Zionist movement or to its designs for expansion. I shall be brief and limit my statement to various steps and positions taken by Israel to impede progress towards peace in the Middle East. 162. The representative of the Zionist and racist entity has described before the Assembly the Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories by stating that that was an exemplary way in which to bridge the gap existing between Arabs and Jews so that they might live together by establi~g a dialogue and demonstrating how they can exist side by side. He spoke as ifhe wished to persuade the Arabs, the General Assembly and the whole world to recognize the Israeli settlements as a fait accompli because, in his opinion, the policy of fait accompli is the only way to live in peace in the Middle East. Did the Israeli representative, in so doing, wish to imply that his listeners were unaware-or was he himself unaware-of the fact that the occupied Arab territories are subjected to the yoke of racist Zionist policies? That he should attempt to ignore the fact that Arabs are. the authentic owners of that territory shows his belief that the Zionists, who hill from all corners of the earth, came to Palestine to teach the Arabs how to live in pe:!ce side by side with the Zionist settlers. 163. That twisted logic proves-if it proves anything at all-nothing other than the fact of the arrogance and superiority complex of this race which wlshes to treat others as ignorant so that it may achieve its aims-its claim that it is the chosen people of God and that other persons should appreciate its instructions, respect its desires and implement its orders, because this people is capable of everything. 165. Rather than welcome the position taken by Egypt as a positive step forward in the establishment of peace in the Middle East, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Mr. Fahmy, said several weeks ago in Washington that Egypt was ready to accept Israel as one of the States of the Middle East and that it was necessary to live in peace in the region, the Zionist representative attempted to mock that initiative, which he described as being belated, and he said that Israel would continue to establish Israeli settlements in occupied Arab territories as, he claimed, a preventive measure. Does he mean by that that it is a preventive measure because he fears peace? An Arab proverb has it that "If you are not ashamed, you may do as you will." 166. The primary responsibility for establishing peace in the Middle East lies with this Organization, which has brought into the world an ungrateful child without legal justification, and subsequently it has been unable to educate that child. 167. Responsibility in the second place lies with the United States, which has turned Israel into a fortress armed to the teeth with weapons of all sorts, to such an extent that its influence extends even over the authority of the country which abetted its creation. 168. The delegation of the Yemen Arab Republic appeals to all parties concerned to prove their sincere desire to reconvene the Geneva Peace Conference and urges the United States of America and the Soviet Union to remove any obstacle raised by Israel to the reconvening of that Conference with the participation of all parties concerned, including the PLO as the only representative of the Palestinian people. 169. Israeli occupation of Arab territories has lasted for a .very long time. The patience of the Arab people and of the whole world has been exhausted in waiting year after year

The item under discussion, namely, recent illegal Israeli measures in the occupied Arab territories, has been debated before this Assembly by the speakers who preceded me with the eloquence and clarity that the problem deserves. 171. During the course of the debate, the brutal and evil policy of the Tel Aviv regime against the Arab people has been exposed and vehemently condemned. It is with those voices of condemnation of the Israeli regime that I should like to associate the voice of my delegation. 172. As a result of the investigations conducted by the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories, the international community is now familiar with the brutal practices of the Zionist entity in Tel Aviv against the human rights of the population of the occupied Arab territories. Now this Assembly is considering the illegal measures taken by Israel in the occupied Arab territories as a consequence of its policy of changing the geographical nature, demographic composition and legal status of the West Bank, the Golan Heights, Sinai and Gaza. 173. While the notorious methods by which the Zionist regime was established in Palestine are well known, the Tel Aviv authorities, true to their expansionist designs have, since 1967, embarked upon the establishment of over 90 illegal settlements. Many other settlements are also in preparation, unless they are checked by the concerted action of the international community. 174. In defiance of the world community and in violation of international conventions and of international law, the Tel Aviv regime has arrogantly and recklessly planned and put into effect illegal settlements on the West Bank, such as Hal Odmim, Ofra, Elon Souria and many others in the occupied Arab territories. Many have heard "fr(nll the horse's mouth"-from none other than Menachem Begin, the so-called Prime Minister of Israel-that " ... these territories are liberated territories and a part of the historical land of Israel". In the same vein, Moshe Dayan has from this very rostrum declared that international law and conventions were not applicable to the occupied Arab territories. 175. Moreover, Mr. Ariel Sharon, the Minister of Agriculture for the Tel Aviv regime, has recently called in no uncertain terms for the creation of major Israeli cities and settlements, including one to be established in Sinai called Yamit, with an estimated population of 100,000. 176. There can be no clearer proof of the expansionist policies of the Israeli regime than these recent remarks straight from the mouths of their most highly placed leaders. This Assembly has to take cognizance of the fact that, far from being ready to respond to the international 177. As the representative of Egypt has stated [47th meeting}, the planned new settlements will be populated by Zionist settlers from South Africa, according to b .....eli newspapers. These reported Zionist settlers from South Africa once a3ain demonstrate the unholy alliance between the Tel Aviv mid Pretoria regimes. 178. In order to attain these sinister and nefarious ends the Tel Aviv authorities have unleashed a reign of terror upon the Arab population, and they have evicted a grezt number of Arabs from their legitimate homeland, destroyed their dwellings and crops, and expropriated their properties in order to make way for these new Zionist settlements. Moreover, 'reI Aviv has employed cunning techniques and s.-oterfuges t;:> create vainly a fait accompli by extending its so-called laws to the Arab population of the occ:tpied territories. TI-Jig action has been rejectej hy the Arab population, wlllch ~es it as the tentacles of the Zionist designs to displace Arabs from their homela.~ds. 179. Instead of complying with the resolutions of the United Nations and with other international norms, the 3ionist r;~l1esentative has madt. an effort to divert the attentio'L of this Assembly from the item under discussion by tryillg to inject into the debate matters which are enti:el:' exti·3.1l.eOUS to it. The Zionists' crocodile tears are well kn,)wn to Africa. 180. The expanding military and economic co-operation between Tel Aviv and the arch enemy of Africa, namely the white minority regime in. South Africa, is clear evidence of the treachery and double standards of the Israeli regime with regard to Africa's interests. 181. In conclusion, Tel Aviy's illegal measures in the occupied Arab territories are not only unfortunate circumstances the Arab people of the territory have to face; they also pose a new danger to the peace and security of the world. Also they are contrary to the norms of international law and a violation of the provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which is applicable to the Arab population in occupied Arab territories. In short, Tel Aviv's actions are illegal and should to all intents and purposes be condemned by this Assembly. Accordingly my delegation u~ges the Assembly to take strong action against thefel Aviv authorities for the wanton violations they have committed. 182. I am sure the Assembly will adopt draft resolution A/32/L.3/Rev.l and Add.l, which is now before it.

My delegation regrets that a representative, well before even having heard what was to be said, considered it proper to prophesy that most speakers following him in this Assembly would content themselves with repeating like parrots the slogans and cliches a ring-master might have orchestrated for them. I regret this. 185.. It is surpnsmg, in any case, that Israel deemed it appropriate to describe as cliches the inalienable right~ of a people. What would the reaction of the internationa~ community be if we were to so describe Israel's right to existence? It is deplorable that a Member of the organization attaches so little importance to the principles of the United Nations. 186. With regard to the accusation that a superficial approach is being taken to international problems, that cannot hold up, because If it were so we would have to conclude it is necessary f'Jf Israel to disappear in order that the problems of the Middle East might disappear with it. 187. We have not emTjsaged such a solution, and Israel could confrrm that. 188. My delegation wants to fOlget the offence to the sense of responsibility of all-delegations committed by the representative of Israel when he declared that we would not even take the time to evaluate the facts put forward. 189. But is it not true that Israeli practices in occupied Palestinian and Arab "erritories have been known for a long time now, and that condemnation of them has similarly long been in the public domain? 190. Whom would he like to have believe that no individual has been displaced, that no Arab has been dispossessed of his property, that no human life has been sacrificed? In 1948 the Palestinians were robbed of their property, buildings and land for the benefit of the Jewish immigrants. It was the same after the wars of 1967 and 1973. 191. And what kind ofmirage or illusion caused obserVers to see the population of the Golan Heights dwindle from 77,000 to 13,000; 200,000 Palestinians forced to withdraw from the West-Bank of the Jordan; 40,000 hectares ofland expropriated in the Gaza Strip; and a further 300 hectares expropriated in the Arab sector of Jerusalem? 192. Israel's guilt is too clear, and Israel has itself established that guilt through its own actions. It is therefore not necessary to adduce proof. 193. Is Israel guilty or not guilty ofhaving ignored all the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly relating to the occupied territories and the rights of persons displaced from those territories? The verdict is guilty. . 194. Is Israel guilty or not guilty of having acted against and having violated the provisions of the Geneva Convention of 1949? 196. The fact that it wouid appear that Israel undertook nothing in the way of colonization b~tween 1948 and 1967 cannot justify all Us later actions. And all things considered, we do 110t see how Isra.:-l can absolve itself of the exactions which it has committed agai."1st the Palestinian people since 1948. 197. We are accused of being obsesse"d by Israel. But it is actually Israel which itself is obsessed by an alleged international anti-Israel plot. When it is attacked with regard to its 'Pharisaic Jewish practices, it attempts to entrench itself behind a good faith which actually is non-existent and, with a misplaced sense of melodrama, believes that a hysterical appeal to world conscience is enough to absolve it of all the sins which it has committed against the ~ternationalcommunity. 198. But we have been told 2lso about a theatre of the absurd. Where do we look for what is absurd here? Does it lie with us, the delegations of States Members ofthe United Nations who are asking only for strict respect of principles, resolutions and decisions? Or does it lie, rather, in the thinking of the impenitent Zionists, for whom the only valid rights are their own? 199. No one can ignore the great activity which has recently been undertaken in an attempt to clear up the situation in the Middle East. Nor can anyone minimize the aspirations of the peoples of the region to a peace based on equity and respect for tbp. inalienable rights of everyone. 200. That is why we understand the apprehensions of the Egyptian delegation masking for the inclusion of item 126 on our agenda. All interested parties, inclqding Israel, protest that they have only peace in mind. But there are those who conceive of this peace in the most exclusive way possible, and thus take exception to any participation in the negotiations by the PLO, which is of course actually the only legitimate and authentic representative of the Palestinian people. 201. But there are those who, like the Zionist leaders, are determined to obstruct all efforts aimed at establishing a just and lasting peace in the Middle East by increasing their measures to change in an irreversible fashion the legal status, the geographical character and the demographic composition of the Palestinian and Arab occupied territories in violation of the principles of the Charter and Arab occupied territories in violation of the principles of the Charter and United Nations resolutions and in contempt for the obligations entered into uncer the terms of the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. 202. One of the most odious aspects of these violations is the establishment and proliferation of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. But it is surprising. to say the least, that when we are notified of such measures, which are scandalously illegal, such news has only given rise to purely formal protestations which are insufficient to arouse the apathy of the United Nations, which seems, at the level of the Security Council, paralysed, by the dilatory actions of :03, Are not all the difficulties in establishing a lasting peace in the Middl~ E:1st a result of this pernicious notion of "secure borders" because, of course, Israel arrogates to itself the right to be th~ sole judge of the security of its frontiers, does not recognize any party except itself as being able to ensure this safeguard, and, under the cover of this alleged double need, pursues openly and cynically a racist, annexationist and expansionist-in sum a colonialist-policy. 204. I shall not dwell on the things which we have witnessed in all the Palestinian and the occupied Arab territories, which cause us to relive the darkest nightmares of the colonial era: the displacements of populations for the benefit of Jewish settlers richly endowed with all the resources of modem technology, living conditions which have been made intolerable. in the zones reserved to non-Jews, discrimination in the hiring of workers, denial of the most elementary rights to non-Jewish workers, and so forth. 205. But when they dare to speak of liberated Israeli territories to 'designate Palestinian and occupied Arab territories, when they let it be said that "Israel is everywhere where Jews are settled", we know very well that the Zionist authorities want to make us believe that for Israel there will never be any fmal frontiers and that, in the fust stage, which we are now witnessing, the objective to be attained is, in the minds of the Israeli leaders, none other than the full "Israelization" of all of Palestine, and even of the neighbouring territories under Arab sovereignty. What, then, would become, inter alia, of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, of which our Organization is the guarantor. What would become of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity whIch Israel itself claims? 206. How long will we tolerate the United Nations remaining paralysed by fallacious arguments, supported if not endorsed by certain of its influential Members? 207. How lor.g will we tolerate a single State to take the liberty of flouting the rest of the international community and shamelessly violating the obligations it has undertaken, in all 'Sovereignty, in becoming a Member of our Organization and in acceding to the international rules of conduct such as the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949? 208. What my delegation would like" first and foremost, is to remind each of us of the urgent need to act for peace in the Middle East, to call upon a Member of our Organization to fulfil its obligations to safeguard its own interests, for, .equally with its neighbours and all other peoples of the earth, the Israeli people has an interest in seeing a just and lasting peace established in the Middle East. And it is in that spirit that my delegation has become a sponsor of the draft resolution submitted to our Assembly under agenda item 126. 209. Consequently, by way of a requirement-wmch, if it were pronounced in all equity and before a cOllrt, which the General Assembly has no wish to be, despite Zionist 210. This set of measures is, in sum, but a palIiativehowever firm the will of the Member States and of the United Nations to apply them-if we do not concentrate on the central concern, that of ensuring for the Palestinians the rights which, as a people that can point to a tradition as age-old as that of the others, they can aspire to and will not give up. And among those rights there is, fIrst and foremost, the right to exist, in every sense of the term, on their lands, surrounded by the belongings of which Israel has robbed them.

I should like to thank you, Mr. President, for calling on me and allowing me to join a debate which is one of a series of discussions that prove the fact that the whole world put together cannot dislodge an adamant foe of justice and fair play. It appears that all conventions, the repeatedly expressed opinions of the world and the resolutions adopted by the United Nations are powerless when a Member of this Organization reso· lutely decides to disregard, flout and trample on them. 212. I have come to this rostrum with a deep sense of disappointment, but I may state that disappointment does not mean any relinquishment of our support for what is right or any weakening of our determination to be on the side of the people, who have been and are being wronged by those who believe in brute force, who think that they can explain away everything by cleverly coined phrases and jugglery of facts, and whose blatant violations of international law, disregard for human rights and disrespect for good conscience have left no doubt regarding their motives. This Assembly has unequivocably expressed its views against the many violations committed by them and is now watching how its powerful Members will fulfil their responsibility. 213. All of us, as human beings with awakened consciences, felt intensely disturbed when one pilot was killed and 82 innocent passengers and four crew were held for ransom. The Orgarlization has taken cognizance of that fact and has showed readiness to deal with it. That is as it ought to have been. But what do we do when a whole country is "hijacked" under the cover of meaningless historical claims, naive pretentions of security for boundaries and the excuse that the establishmeJrt of settlements calculated to merge the conquered territory with the previously held land are quantitatively negligible or carry a different meaning in law and fact from what they are on their very face. Let us take 214. The historical claim has its dubious origin in a period of time which was, or was alleged to have existed, once upon a time, more than 2,000 years ago. The essence of that argument is that there was history before two millennia and that since then history has stood still. However, if the allegation is correct, we may ask, What was the duration of that period? And what was the expanse of territory? The period in which the ancestors of the Jewish people are said to have ruled was a fraction of a fraction of the length of time that followed their exodus. The precise ascertainment of their territory will give the best of historians sleepless nights even in making the most approxi· mate conjectures. That is the origin of the historical claim. 215. Why was that alleged sovereignty lost? Admittedly as a punishment for bad deeds. Since then centuries have rolled by: many empires rose and ruled vast territories, including the land that is claimed; many nations flourished there and made great contributions to human history. But we are required to treat all those happenings of a couple of thousand years as non-existent, as mere nothings deservedly forgotten. On that basis Israel claims the West Bank and Gaza as historically its own property and treats aggression as "liberation". This is obviously a groundless argument. 216. But this argument is supported by a geographical cum·military argument. The assertion is made that the conquests ofJune 1967 constitute unquestionable territorial extensions because the conquered territory stretched the land that Israel possessed at that time out to its "natural boundaries". But what is the value of natural boundaries if this possession is unnatural? Moreover, natural boundaries acquired by aggression are the most unnatural frontiers that can be conceived of by an international organization which stands for peace and orderly conduct. In addition to that, we know that one expansion leads to another, with the result that the so-called natural boundaries are really boundless. The talk of natural boundaries is a mere camouflage. 217. On the basis of those contentions the Israeli Government has proceeded to defy world opinion by taking steps to merge the conquered territory with the territory already held by it. That has been done by legalizing the settlements which were made on the occupied territory, by plalming new settlements on it, by handing over the territory to the Israeli Civil Service, by appointing military men as gover· nors, by extending Israeli laws to it, by abrogating the existing matrimonial laws and by establishing Israeli institutions in that area. 218. We are told that that is not annexation, because the settlements are small and because administrative uniformity should be looked upon as "equalization'"of the residents of the occupied territory with the citizens of the State of Israel. The difference is, however, that Israeli citizens are free people and well·armed rulers, whereas the residents of the occupied territory are unwilling citizens as well as unwelcome, but captured, flocks of men and women. 220. Several Gen.eral Assembly resolutions have repeatedly called upon Israel to respect and comply with its obligations under international law and have deplored its persistent violation of the Geneva Convention. Several General Assembly re601utions, including resolution 31/106 A adopted last year, have also strongly condemned Israeli . ... measures taken in the occupied Arab territories to alter their demographic composition or geographical nature and particularly the establishment of Jewish settlements. That resolution further called upon Israel to rescind those measures and to desist forthwith from taking such measures. All those injunctions of the highest forum of the international community have failed to make any impres- . sion on Israel. As late as July of this year Israel went ahead . and legalized unauthorized Jewish settlements and also decided to establish new Jewish settlements on the West Bank. 221. Instances of the violation of the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human· Rights have frequently come to light. A recent report by the Swiss League for Human Rights, released in September of this year, referred to the excesses committed by the Israeli administration against the people of the occupied territories. Those excesses include arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without legal sanction, restrictions on moveme~t,violation of property rights: such as arbitrary expropriation of property, political and judicial discrimination, and even systematically inflicted torture. 222. It is deplorable that, while the international community is trying to seek a peaceful settlement in the Middle East and to pave the way for the convening of the Geneva Conference, Israei is pursuing plans to colonize the occupied Arab lands. It is therefore not surprising that the moves made by the Israelis have drawn a sharp reactio~ and not only from the Arab world; they have also come under the severe criticism of the entire international community. Even Israel's close friends have described them as "an obstacle to constructive peace negotiations." 223. Pakistan has always supported the cause of the Arab ami the Palestinian peoples. Our support is not merely to show that we are solidly with them in the furtherance of their cause, but it is based on the principle of self-determination, on respect for the Charter of the United Nations '8.,lld its resolutions, and on rejection of the exercise of force and intimidation in international relations. It is our finn belief that lasting peace cannot be attained unless Israel withdraws from the occupied Arab territories and respects their people's inalienable rights, including the' right to establish an independent State in their own homeland. The Zionist policies aimed at the extinction ofPalestine and the Palestiniaq people, and depriving them of their land in order to accommocate Jewish immigrants, will only bring

My delegation has read with great attention the statement made yesterday by the Permanent Representative of Egypt concerning the decision of the Government of Israel to establish further settlements in the occupied Arab territories. My delegation has also studied car~fully draft resolution A/32/L.3/Rev.1 and Add.1 and fmds itself in full agreement with its aims and purposes. Accordingly, we have sponsored this draft and shall naturally vote in favour of its adoption. 226. It is a matter ofgrave concern to my delegation that, at a time when the efforts of the international community are actively directed towards achieving an early resumption of the Geneva peace talks and"towards creating a favourable climate in which those talks can take place, Israel should take further provocative measures to aggravate and complicate an already complex situation. 227. My Government haC) always maintained the position that the fourth Geneva Convention fully applies to all territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including the holy city of Jerusalem. It is regrettable that Israel should continue to pursue towards the occupied territories under its control a policy whichit initiated from the time it began its occupation of the Arab territories in 1967 am}. which runs counter to the spirit and provisions of that Convention. In addition to establishing Jewish settlements in occupied Arab territories, it has taken other illegal measures aimed at transforming the status of those territories. 228. It is niy delegation's view that Israel should be called upon to halt forthwith all actions which would result in changing the legal status, geographical nature and demographic composition of those territories. 229. The unfortunate aspect of this question is that the measures being taken by the Israeli authorities constitute deliberate acts of defiance of the decisions of the Security Councn and of the General Assembly, and a grave violation ofinternational law. Their objective can only be interpreted as denying the national rights of the Palestinian people, strengthening Israel's grip over the Arab territories and raising additional obstacles to international efforts for achieving a just and peaceful solutiqn of the Middle East crisis. 230. My delegation unequivocally supports the position taken by the Organization of African Unity, as well as that of the non-aligned group of States, that Israel's continued illegal occupation of Arab territories constitutes a serious threat to international peace and security and that the measures taken by Israel to alter the status and character of the territories are null and void. 231. My delegation cannot accept the argument by Israel that t.h.e legal status of the territories is indefmite or that the Geneva Conventions are not applicable to them. The "... the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War is applicable to the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967. Therefore, the occupying Power is called upon once again to comply strictly with the provisions of that Convention am;! to refrain from any measure that violates them. In this regard the measures taken by Israel in the occupied Arab territories that alter their demographic composition or geographical nature and particularly the establishment of settlements are accordingly strongly deplored. Such measures which have no legal validity and cannot prejudge the outcome of the search for the establishment of peace constitute an obstacle to peace."t 0 232. Mr. Saleh FARAH (Djibouti): It is with great sorrow that we have recently received the shocking news of the untimely and premature death of our brother, Saif bin Ghobash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. The death of Mr. Ghobash is not only an unfortunate loss to his country but also a loss to the Arab world and to the rest of the world at large. In this sad moment, I should like to express on behalf of my delegation our deep condolence to his beloved family, his Government and people. May God rest his soul in peace. 233. Since this is the first debate in which my delegation has participated, allow me to express my special feeling of happiness in addressing members at this thirty-second session of the General Assembly and to thank them sincerely for accepting and welcoming my country, the Republic of Djibouti, as it took its place here in the United Nations. 234. It also gives me great pleasure to convey to them the warm greetings and gratitude of President Hassan Gouled and our people for their kind consideration in enabling us to secure our position in this Assembly. Let me assure the representatives here that the congratulatory notes and the courtesy they have extended to our delegation were an encouragement to my country proudly to assume its full responsibility among you here. 235. It is also my pleasure to extend my warmest congratulations to Mr. Lazar Mojsov, on his election as President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly. Let me assure him that. our mission to the United Nations will be pleased fully to co-operate with its fellow delegations, under your good guidance, in the discharge of our international responsibilities. 236. I also take this rare opportunity to express my respect and admiration for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, for the competent efforts he has been exerting in achieving tangible success in the endeavours of the United Nations and in promoting the best interests in the pursuit of peace, prosperity and justice. 238. The Palestine problem-which has been created ever since the inception of the Zionist State of Israel-has been the major issue in the Middle East conflict-a situation which has engaged the attention of the international community for the past 30 years. What is needed is a powerful and more practical effort to seek solutions more attractive to both parties. Alas, it is always Zionist Israel that steps farther away from any peaceful solution when- ever such attempts are made. 239. In spite of Israeli obstinacy and arrogance, it is high time that peaceful iIlgredients be found for the cure. This is imperative, because the geographical and material situation of the Middle East bears ail important relation to the linking of peace and security in the region with peace and security in the world at large.. 240. The whole world is aware that the existing situation in the Middle East is the result of Israeli intransigence and continued aggression viciously directed against the rights of the Palestinian people and against the territories annexed from the Arab lands. This situation is surely aggravated by the ever-increasing lust of racist Israel to claim and annex what is Arab territory. 241. The recent Israeli measures designed to apply Israeli laws to the Arab inhabitants in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and to establish new settlements in occupied Palestine and other Arab lands are clear evidence of the intent of the Israeli Government to satisfy its voracious appetite for expansion. 242. The existing state of affairs in that region~ as a result of Israeli obstinacy in disregarding the international appeal for peace, invites an explosion of the situation in the Middle East-an explosion which may not be limited to the countries of the region, but may rather endanger peace in the whole world. 243. The lesson that the whole world in general-and Israel in particular-has learned from the October 1973 war, which jeopardized the concept of peace and brought the whole world to the verge of nuclear war, is not beyond memory. In the light of this unforgettable lesson we state for the record that all talk and negotiations about peace in the world are a farce if real peace is not achieved in the Middle East. 244. The Arab countries, which are a very important part of the world, realize this fact. Through peace the Arabs ~an ensure the prosperity ~d welfare of their people in the 245. Statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Begin are a true example of how to obstruct peace~ These statements always s.i.ow the trend the Israeli leaders follow. They talk about the "historical homeland", the "liberated territory" of the West Bank, and about the "Biblical land of Israel". This is a dishonest measure aimed at annexing the Arab lands to Israel. It is an insult to the intelligence of the international community. Suffice it to say that history is not deceived. ' 246.· The steps take!! by Israel in its illegal attempts at annexation, are designed to undermine the efforts of convening the Geneva Peace Conference. The Israeli pro- posals for peace in the Middle East are far from accom- plishing any peace in the area. In this context the Israelis ignore the fact that the Palestine question is the core of the conflict in the Middle East. They refuse to withdraw to the pre-5 June 1967 borders, and they refuse to recognize the PLO. They also refuse to accept the right of the people of Palestine to establish their own sovereign State. 247. How can the Israeli impostor and aggressor reconcile its contradictory claims-its desire to live in peace and its voracious appetite for occupation and expansion? Israel would be very much mistaken if it indulges in the belief that it can impose its will on the Arabs. Israel should know that history repeats itself and that no impostors ever win. 248. In conclusion, we call upon all representatives, international bodies, organizations and the world com- munity to stand f"rrm .against Isrsel's aggressive anti expan- sionist attitude and practices. We call upon the General Assembly to condemn the recent Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. They are vicious settlements imposed against the will and at the expense of the people of Palestine and other Arab countries.

Mr. rresident, it is with great humility that I have to congratulate you after my Head of State and my Foreign Minister have both done so. But be assured that I have enjoyed your leadership during this Assembly and that my country and yours, which have the same general trend in our foreign policies, will continue to work together both at the individual and national levels. 250. My delegation is speaking on agenda item 126 on the recent illegal Israeli measures in the occupied Arab territories because in its view these measures, put in the mildest form, are blocking all efforts at resolving the Middle East problem by peaceful means. I feel that the time has come when the international community should focus its attention on the continuing crisis in the area, a crisis which is daily assuming increasingly o,minous dimensions in terms of the serious threats it poses to international peace and security. 251. During the thirty-f"ITst session of this Assembly, resolution 31/106 which was recommended by the Special Political Committee and subsequently adopted by the General Assembly, strongly deplored the measures taken by 252. I do not regret today that I participated in a debate in. UNESCO when I was Ambassador to France and to that organization, which led to the adoption of sanctions against Israel for its desecration of historic sites and the Holy Places which are held dear in the Islamic world. The protests of the international community of Zionists went a long way towards rocking the stability of the United Nations system. This is yet another problem on which others cannot express their views because of international zionism and the pressure which it can bring to bear even on an international org~ationof the nature of UNESCO. 253. The present Israeli Government that came to office a few months ago has not omy set itself the task of cmiferring official sanction on illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied lands on the West Bank of the River Jordan, but has also initiated a new retrogressive step by actively encouraging the establishment of new Jewish settlements in the area. And, as if the new Government were consciously setting the tragic pace for a new conflict in the Middle East, Mr. Begin, the Israeli Prime Minister, has chosen, again with deliberate provocation, to rename the West Bank the so-called liberated areas ofbiblical Judaea and Samaria. If it is the desire of the world to go back 2,000 years and to draw new boundaries based on Mohammedanism, Christianity, Buddhism"and the like, we shall all understand what chaos there will be and indeed what a new and interesting world. we shall have. Even Israel's friends in this country, the United States of America, were taken by surprise, just as the entire world was stunned by Tel Aviv's actions. 254. An American newspaper the Washington Post described t~p. Israeli action as reckless, provocative and indefensible. The paper went further to dub it as a f:vntal assault on the American effort to arrange a settlement. No other description can be more apt, since Mr. Begin chose to give legal status to the three unauthorized Israeli settlements on the West Bank on the eve of Mr. Cyrus Vance's latest diplomatic shuttle between Arab and Israeli capitals in Au~st. This action, if anything, underlines the levity with which the State of Israel has chosen to treat a matter ofserious concern to the world community. 255. The picture in the occupied areas itself is one of unmitigated suffering, hard~hip, hunll1iation and human degradation for the Palestinians who chose to remain following Israel's sweeping victory in tlle June 1967 war. The records of statements made by other delegations dUring this, session and information from sources generally accepted as being independent have all proved conclusively that the Israelis have no regard for any standards of propriety or values of international law in this matter. In addition to giving official sanction to Jewish settlements in occupied areas in flagrant violation and brazen defiance of the resolutions of this Organization of which Israel claims to. be a Member State, the Zionists have begun a'brutal campaign of calumny, harassment and repression against 256. The pattern and style of the administration of the Jewish occupation force has violated every word and every statute in the Geneva Convention relative to the Protecticn of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949. Palestinian families have been deliberately uprooted from their homes and their farmlands have been turned over to Jewish settlers. Where there are no Israelis available to cultivate the land, we are infonned, according to a report in the American magazine New Times, the fields have been chemically defoliated. Palestinian shepherds quietly .and peacefully working their traditional grazing land are said to have been tracked down by Israelis in jeeps and chased a\\tay by rifle fire. The report in the New Times claims, and I have no reason to doubt it-I have no reason to believe it, but it claims-that as much as 80 per cent of all arable land abutting the West Bank of the Jordan River-the area which would be the bread-basket of the new Palestinian State-has been confiscated. 257. Finally, the attempts made by the Israeli Government to extend the application of Israeli laws to the Arabs in the occupied areas cannot but be seen as a form of discrimination against the hapless Arabs and thus has the effect of further compounding their humiliation already made evident in the sequestration of their lands by the Israelis. In short, even though it is on record that I do not wish to link the situation in the Middle East with the question of apartheid in South Africa, the Israeli style of government in the occupied areas can fmd a parallel in terms of its monstrosity and callousness only in apartheid South Africa with which Tel Aviv has lately developed even closer ties in spite of all our protestations during the pest few years. 258. I am distressed that all this should be happening at a time when the prospects even from the Arab side appeared excellent for a just and durable peace in the area. Even the American press, noted for its traditional affinity with and sympathy for the Israeli cause, is now full of previously untold stories of repression of the Palestinians. Some are wondering whether Israel h~ not now become a threatened outpost of human rights or whether Israel has transformed itself into a country that has used a generation of .i\merican arms and money and, above all, a generation of American good will and emotional support to quadruple its size and dispossess millions of people in quest of an expansionist ambition that can only provoke renewed conflict and bring disaster to the region. In a wider context the situation in the Middle East today constitutes one of mankind's mosf veritable threats to international peace and security. 259. My delegation, therefore, wishes to reiterate, as indeed it has over the years, before this body our unequivocal and total support for the oppressed Palestinians, who have been callously dispossessed of their lands, and to pledge our solidarity with them in their just and legitimate struggle for self-determination and for their inalienable right to regain the lands taken away from them 260. In conclusion, we wish to express the hope that the Israelis will realize that no durable peace in the Middle East is feasible so long as the Palestinians are denied their inalienable rights to self-determination, human dignity and independence within secure and defmable political bound y aries, rights that are those of all ~tates in the area. Israel's backers have a responsibility to themselves as well as to the entire world community to exert all the pressure at their disposal on the Israelis to desist forthwith from any further alienation of Arab lands in the occupi~d areas and to evacuate the settlements on which legal sanction was lately conferred. We also expect the same backers to help in accelerating the process for an early reconvening of the Geneva peace talks which will allow for the widest participation ofall parties to the conflict in the Middle East including the PLO, which is universally acknowledged as representing the authentic voice of the Palestinian people, in a spirit ofequality and compromise.

I should like frrst to express my delegation's condolences to the deleg[~ionof the United Arab Emirates on the tragic death of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of that country, Mr. Ghobash. As a result of his tragic death the Arab world has lost a great statesman and the United Nations also has lost a very well-known and highly respected figure. I should like therefore to assure the delegation of the United Arab Emirates of our sympathy and solidarity. 262. The international community has been trying by all means at its disposal to resolve the deadlock on the question of the Middle East. Efforts have been made in this Organization and outside it to reconvene the Geneva Conference so that a real movement towards peace could be initiated on.the basis of United Nations resolutions and of the fundamental principles which govern relations among States. 263. The most important of those principles is without question that of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force or by de facto annexation. There is also another principle which is of no less importance, namely, the principle of respect for the rules established in the fourth Genava Convention. 264. The efforts of the mternational community to reach a just and lasting peace have been dangerously compromised and they are being compromised more and more every day by the illegal measures adopted by Israel in the occupied Arab territories. The principles contained in the fourth Geneva Convention, to which I have just refrrred, are principles to which all the States Members of our Organization have subscribed. We have all taken an oath to uphold those principles, and yet that oath is being flouted and trampled upon by the authorities of Tel Aviv. 266. I believe that the most significant thing in this respect is the statement made by -the representative of Belgium on behalf of the European Community [48th meeting]. That representative criticized in the most forthright manner possible the harm done by Israel to the demographic and geographical conformation of the occupied Arab territories in contravention ofthe provisions ofestablished international law. 267. What is the situation? In 1967, Israel, carrying out . its policy ofintimidation and aggression, occupied the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, the Golan Heights and the West Bank of the Jordan. Those are all Arab territoiies, as is Palestine itself. Not only has Israel behaved like a typical occupying Power with regard to its new acquisitions which it acquired by force but it has also systematically tried to change the demographic nature and geographical conformation of those territories. It has committed and is daily committing inndmissible sacrileges wi~ respect to the Holy Places of IsIlU'1l in Jerusalem. These. sacrileges take the form of new constructions, archaeological excavations and the profanation ofmosques. 268. Israel is implementing a policy ofsettlements, which is fed by waves of immigrants, the majority of whom have never seen Palestine before. AIl this is undeniable fact and it all takes place in defiance of the decisions of our Organization, which itself gave birth to Israel. Thus, 26 settlements have been set up in the Golan Heights, 3 in Sinai, 17 in the Gaza Strip, 31 on the West Bank of the Jordan. What is more, the Arab populatic'.s of those occupied territories have been displaced and their homes destroyed. Those people have lost their property and have 269. In fact, the Israel's policy in the occupied Arab territories is founded on racial discrimination and on the pure and simple denial of the most elementary rights of the human person. By their very nature these Jewish settlements are a form of racism which is as insidious and as odious as the system ofapartheid in. South Africa which we all so resoundingly condemn. The solidarity and manifold and close relations between Tel Aviv and Pretoria show in fact that these two regimes are essentially similar. They follow the same pattern and have the same policy of separate development based on race. They use the same methods of discriminatory terrorism. They have the same superiority complex towards the native inhabitants of the occupied regions. 270. Under the circumstances, how is it possible to believe for an instant the statements made by the Israeli authorities, according to which these authorities wish to fmd a just and lasting peace in the region? You all know that this peace cannot be just unless it is accompanied by the annulment of the faits accomplis which have been brought about in the occupied Arab territories. This peace cannot be a just peace as long as there are people displaced from their homes and replaced by immigrants who have come from everywhere except from Palestine. This peace cannot be lasting either if it sets apart the Palestinian people and its only genuine representative, the PLO. This peace cannot be lasting either if it is accompanied by acquisition by force and occupaiion. 271. The developments that have taken place in the region ever since 1945 show that Israel will never know peace as long as it is determined to ignore the Palestinian reality. Israel can win lightning victories here and there. Israel can continue to deny and scorn the United Nations. It can continue to establish settlements in the occupied Arab territories. But in the long run, Israel is condemned to disappear or to live on the basis of respect for the fundamental pri.:lciples which govern relations among peoples on the basis of right and justice. Once Israel becomes aware of this extremely simple choice that it must make, then, and only then, will it be possible to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The meeting rose at 7.25 p.m.